Bird watching tours from Hotel Villas Rio Mar in Dominical

You can discover a lot of birds in the gardens of the hotel resort, or more with the birdwatching tours organized around Dominical.

Lowland Bird Watching Hike (Costa Rica)

With 875 different types of birds, Costa Rica is one of the few countries in the world that offers as many different species of birds in such a small area. One of the reasons for Costa Rica’s extraordinary bird life is the country’s great variety of habitats: - rain forests - mangrove swamps - beaches, - cloud forest, - rivers.

The Lowland Bird Watching Hike begins early when the birds are just beginning to wake up. First on the agenda is a visit to a tower located on top of a knoll. The upper deck puts you in the tree tops at eye level with the birds. This is an ideal location for spottingtanagers, honeycreepers, toucans, saltators, vireos and others.

From there you will hike through secondary forest with your sharp-eyed guide until you arrive at La Casona, the old Hacienda Barú home where you will enjoy a delicious breakfast of typical Costa Rican food. From the Casona we will go on to the river, your only chance to observe water birds. Petrels, jaegers, gulls, and others are likely to be found there, and, with a little luck, an osprey might make an appearance.

From there its on to the rookery where, during the wet season, you will observe egrets, herons, ibis and other water birds from a platform built over the water of the mangrove estuary that offers a great view.

The final leg of the tour includes secondary forest and the beach, your best opportunities to observe shore birds such as whimbrels, plovers, phalaropes, sandpipers and sanderlings, pelicans and frigatebirds. From the beach it is a short walk back to the Tour Center, where you began your journey.Duration of the tour: 6-7 hours Price: $45 per persons Times: 5:30 to 6:00 AM,

Rainforest Bird Watching Hike in Costa Rica

The Rainforest Bird Watching Hike begins before daybreak. Your expert guide will take you through old cacao plantations and up into the rainforest. After about an hour of hiking and experiencing the early morning jungle.

You will arrive at the campsite where you may observe birds at your leisure while your guide fixes coffee and sweet rolls, granola and milk. After breakfast you will hike through primary forest in search of the birds particular to that habitat.

The dense forest provides unlimited hiding places, and bird watching here is definitely hard work. With a little luck, you will be rewarded with sightings of some of the more illusive birds such as: trogons, motmots, antshrikes, manakins, tinamous, curasows and others.Duration of the tour: 6-7 hours Price: $45 per persons Time: 5:00 to 5:30 AM